A/N: -sigh- This update took forever, I'm sorry for the wait. Thanks for all the reviews and support (and reminders to update xD), I really appreciate it! I changed my mind a lot while writing this chapter, but overall I'm pretty satisfied with it. Also, Vergil refers to his sword a lot in the female form just because I imagine he would consider it more akin to an elegant, beautiful, and deadly force, rather than brutish and just over-the-top like a lot of other weapons in the series xD There's a lot of dialogue in this chapter. Dramaaaaa

Disclaimer: Same as usual, I don't own the characters or make any money, blah blah


Chapter 6

Nero tossed and turned for a long time, unable to completely shake off the events that had transpired in the kitchen earlier. He trusted Dante's judgment usually, even if he'd never admit to it, but right now he couldn't help but to be a little concerned that maybe the older man was being blinded by his personal feelings. Was it really safe for them to be under the same roof as Vergil? The little he knew about this guy didn't exactly leave him feeling confident that everything would be just fine and dandy around the shop going forward. Nero could only shrug it off as he stared out the shop's windows into the darkness; there was no use in worrying himself to death, he'd just have to be extra vigilant from now on until things settled fully.

Eventually the teen clambered to his feet and trudged into the kitchen to make some coffee. He didn't like the beverage all that much, but he wasn't going to be able to sleep so he might as well wake himself up and do something to pass the time - he still had a while before the sun rose. The best idea Nero could come up with as he sipped his drink a short while later was to go outside and squeeze in a little exercise. He hadn't been out much since this whole ordeal started, and the teen didn't want to lose his edge just because his whole life had been flipped upside down. Besides, with the way things had been playing out, it wasn't exactly a bad idea.

Nero drained the rest of his cup and ditched it in the sink, then quietly dressed so he wouldn't disturb Kyrie and grabbed his weapons before he headed back into the kitchen and out of the back door of the shop. There wasn't a ton of room to work in behind the building, but it was enough, and it was more private with the extremely tall fence around the backyard, unlike the exposed and limited space of the front side of the building. Thankfully the moon was bright and the sky was clear for the moment. Nero wandered into the middle of the space, leaving Red Queen on the slightly dilapidated picnic table back there so he could start doing some light stretches before he got down to business.

A half-hour or so passed with Nero just working on standard exercises before he finally felt warmed up enough to pick up his sword. The teen jogged lightly back over to the picnic table to pick up his weapon, but he hesitated as he reached for her. It was hard for Nero to explain, but he was suddenly a lot more interested in practicing with Yamato instead. Maybe it was because he had a feeling he might not have it much longer, or maybe the blade was itching to be utilized since its real master was around? Nero might have questioned his sanity at that last question and the implications that a sword could think and feel, but considering everything else… he figured it was possible, even if it was unlikely.

Shrugging off the weird thoughts that had suddenly invaded his mind, Nero sighed and decided to just go with the flow. He picked up his sword and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before he called on the power of Yamato. If he was honest with himself, Nero would admit that he really felt like he was lacking when it came to utilizing the sword. He'd seen Dante use it before, and the difference was clear. Dante had also, though begrudgingly, mentioned before that Vergil was a lot more talented at swordplay than he was - though if Nero wasn't mistaken, he thought the elder hunter sounded a little proud of his twin. Nero snorted briefly as the thought that perhaps he could ask Vergil for some pointers crossed his mind.

'Yeah sure, if I wanna get mauled to death,' Nero thought to himself with a shake of his head. That was definitely out of the question, at least for now.

The teenaged hunter rolled his neck and shoulders a couple of times before he warmed up with Yamato, sending out a few of the ethereal swords that Dante had once told him were called Summoned Swords. It wasn't the most… interesting name, but it made sense. Feeling pretty good about the strength of the energy blades he'd blasted into the air, Nero shook off his thoughts and began working through some other moves he was used to doing with Yamato, determined to lose himself for a little while.


Vergil managed a good hour or two of sleep after Dante helped him into bed, but he found himself waking up for no real reason. He managed to totter to the bathroom alone, and helped himself to the toothbrush his brother had picked up for him. It felt good to be up and about, but he decided against taking himself downstairs for right now - no need for any repeats of earlier, he would just wait for Dante.

The devil hobbled back over to the bed and managed to get himself somewhat comfortable with his back propped up by pillows, only to find that he had absolutely nothing to do until his brother woke up, and who knew when that would be. Vergil sighed and leaned back against the pillows, figuring maybe he could take a small nap since he was still a bit tired. He felt like he had just closed his eyes when he felt it again - Yamato.

Icy blue eyes snapped back open and Vergil glanced around, trying to pinpoint where the sensation was coming from. He twisted around on the bed, his heart racing as the familiar feeling of Yamato's dark energy surged and ebbed somewhere close by. His gaze narrowed as it landed on the window behind the bed, and with a bit of effort the devil heaved himself up onto his knees so he could peer outside. Vergil felt his eyebrows raise ever so slightly as he took in the sight outside in what appeared to be the backyard of the shop… and that boy from before.

Vergil felt himself growl slightly as he watched the scene unfolding in the backyard. He was right when he assumed that boy had his sword. It was strange, it wasn't like the boy was swinging her around or anything, but the power was there… and was that some sort of Summoned Swords knock-off? It looked different, but the core of the attack was still familiar. The devil quirked an eyebrow slightly at that - did Dante teach the boy or had he figured it out on his own? Vergil was so distracted with observing and silently critiquing the performance he was watching that he didn't even notice he wasn't alone until a hand grasped his shoulder firmly.

Vergil would never admit for the rest of his life that he jumped a bit when he was grabbed. He managed to cover up how startled he was by taking a swing at the offender, who turned out to be Dante, and managed to catch his twin on the chin.

"What are you doing?!" he hissed, swatting at his brother while Dante laughed a bit at him.

"Just coming to check on my beloved twin. Is there a problem with that?" the younger devil asked with a grin.

"Die in a hole," Vergil growled as he glared at his brother. "I'm surprised you're even up right now," he added with a snort.

"Well, I figured your pasty ass might be hungry, so I came to check on you. If you're good, I'll even take you outside to play after," he added, which earned him another glare.

"...Outside?" Vergil asked, glancing towards the window again. Outside could work. "Very well…" he agreed with a small huff.

"Good. I'll be back in a few with the food, try not to scare any children or small animals with your face while I'm gone," Dante called out over his shoulder as he headed out the bedroom door.

"We look the same, you imbecile…" Vergil muttered with a roll of his eyes. He shook his head and sighed, turning his attention back to the window. The boy was still out there, so the devil took the time while he waited to observe him. There was some sort of weird… phantom like presence behind him some of the time as Yamato's energy pulsed, and Vergil wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Was it the sword, or an ability of the boy? He supposed if they were going outside later he'd be able to observe it a little closer - before he took his sword back.

Dante returned shortly with two plates of scrambled eggs and bacon and two cups balanced precariously in his arms, and Vergil felt his stomach twist painfully. He was ravenous now that his strength was starting to return. The elder twin eagerly accepted the food and drink from his brother and began tearing into it. Normally such uncouth behavior would have mortified Vergil, but right now he was starving and anxious to get out.

"Take a breath, bro… don't choke to death after I spent all this time fixin' you up," Dante teased as he shoveled his own food into his mouth in a similar, but less intense manner.

Vergil only growled in response as he cleaned his plate and set it aside so he could rain the contents of his cup. He felt a little uncomfortable from eating so fast, but he didn't care.

"Hurry up, I want to get out of this room," Vergil huffed as he glared at his twin.

"Chill out, we have all day," Dante replied with a roll of his eyes as he finished his own food. "Besides… we need to have a little chat before we go out."

Vergil quirked an eyebrow at his twin, curious and a little anxious at hearing they needed to 'talk'. Talk about what? He already agreed to the stupid rules… what else could there be?

"Then talk," the elder twin huffed and folded his arms over his chest, trying to cover up the apprehension he was feeling.

"So… you've been gone for a while. Like… a really long time. A lot of stuff has happened, you know," Dante started, scratching the back of his head a bit awkwardly.

"Obviously," Vergil drawled, scowling a bit. What was this all about?

"Yeah, so anyways, remember the two from the kitchen? You know, when you went all 'Hulk-smash' downstairs like a total psycho?" Dante prodded, obviously trying to be annoying on purpose in retaliation for his brother's attitude.

"Hn… the boy and girl, yes, I remember," Vergil replied, wisely keeping his comment about 'strays' to himself. Besides… he was curious about them, especially the boy. The girl seemed innocent, and human, enough. "What about them?"

"Okay… well… shit, this is… okay," Dante huffed, earning himself a confused look from his brother. "So as you might have noticed, the kid, has Yamato…" he explained, wrinkling his nose a bit - a trait they shared when annoyed or anxious, a fact Vergil didn't miss.

"I noticed," he replied icily. "Is there a reason you'd give something so precious to someone so… well, someone else?" Vergil asked, the frost in his tone almost enough to leave icicles in the room.

Dante groaned and shook his head and cracked his knuckles, obviously trying not to fidget.

"This is awkward as fuck," the younger twin admitted bluntly. If only this conversation could have been pinned on someone else. "Okay well, the kid, his name is Nero, and the girl is Kyrie, his girlfriend. Real sweet thing, honestly," Dante explained. "Kid's pretty cool too, a little hot-headed, but he's young, so it's expected."

The fact that his brother was stalling wasn't lost on Vergil, and he leveled his twin with a glare that said to hurry the hell up and get to the point.

"Alright, alright," Dante raised his hands in defense. "So, I know you've probably got more questions than you know what to do with. But I'll try to stick to the basics for now. We met the pair of them a while back when some shit went down. You know, the usual 'I'm going to open a Hell Gate' spiel, uh, no offense," he explained with a slightly sheepish look once he realized he might just be pissing off Vergil by reminding him of the last real time they'd seen each other before this. "Well, we all kept in touch, I kinda took the kid under my wing and stuff, got him some real training since basically everyone he knew turned out to be crazy… eh, but that's a story for later," Dante shrugged off as he caught another glare from his twin.

"Please, get to the point," Vergil sighed, feeling like he might be sick. His brother never used to act this unsure- just what exactly was he trying to tell him?

"Okay, okay," Dante conceded with a sigh and a ran a hand through his own hair. "So, the reason the kid has Yamato is, well, he's actually the one who recovered it. Those freaks were keeping the shards, and long story short, the kid managed to repair it-don't ask me how, it's just what happened," Dante spit out quickly when he saw his brother preparing to interrupt. "Yamato was never really my style, and honestly… I couldn't bear to see it just wasting away if I brought it home. Besides, the kid really earned it, and it wasn't like I just handed it to him and sent him on his way. He's taken good care of it… really," Dante explained with a sigh.

Vergil pursed his lips as he took in the story his brother was telling him. So the sword was broken, just like he remembered… and somehow this... Nero managed to fix her? It was strange, and he needed more information, but he doubted he would get it from Dante.

"I know how much it means to you, but you know… it means a lot to him too," Dante carefully explained, eyeing his brother for any signs that he understood what he was asking without actually saying it.

"It's mine. It's all I have," Vergil replied immediately, feeling his chest constrict a bit. No matter how much Dante trusted this boy… it was his, and he needed it.

"Verge... " Dante started but was interrupted as his brother held up a hand to silence him.

"You have no idea, no idea!" Vergil hissed at his twin. "Don't try and convince me otherwise."

"...Okay Verge, I'll take care of it," Dante sighed in response. "Look… that's not it though," he continued, and the look on his face made Vergil tense up even more.

"What else could there possibly be?" the elder twin growled, feeling his patience waning. "Stop sparing me from whatever it is and just spit it out."

"Fine. Quick and easy, like a bandaid," Dante shrugged, though the confidence in his voice didn't reach his eyes. "We thought it was weird that the kid could use Yamato the way he does, the white hair, the eyes, everything, so we did some digging around. Turns out, you're not the frosty bastard I always assumed you were," the younger twin explained, not quite smirking, but a wry sort of amusement was present as they stared at each other.

"...What in the seven hells is that supposed to mean?" Vergil asked, feeling his eyebrow twitch in irritation.

"Nero is your son," Dante stated bluntly. "And no, before you ask, it's physically impossible for him to be mine, and we did a DNA test and everything."

"..." Vergil stared at his brother as if he'd grown a second head. "Very funny," he replied after a moment with a snort, shaking his head at his brother's antics.

"I'm serious," Dante replied, narrowing his gaze just a bit. "I wanted to break it to you a little more gently, but hey, you asked," he shrugged somewhat awkwardly. "It's part of the reason I never asked for the sword back. Figured it was sort of fitting for him to have it."

"Impossible!" Vergil hissed as he scowled at Dante. "I don't have any children, I've been in the demon realm, in case you hadn't noticed!" he protested.

"I know, dumbass. The kid's age fits perfectly for when you were on your little crusade to fuck the world over. I guess even you needed to kick back and have a little fun sometimes," Dante replied with a loud snort. "I'm guessing you must have just hit it and quit it, the kid was left as a baby at some orphanage or something and adopted," he explained. "Look… I know it's a LOT to take in, but trust me… we checked this inside and out, backwards and forwards… it's airtight. In fact, we just told the kid literally right before you showed up outside looking like death itself. He had no idea," Dante continued, hoping to calm his brother with cold hard facts rather than the possibility that they might be wrong.

Vergil didn't say anything, instead choosing to stare down at his tightly balled fists as he attempted to take it all in. There was no way… he couldn't have a child, he couldn't! The devil struggled to remember, but bits and pieces of his past were still fuzzy or just plain gone. If he really thought hard, he could sort of recall snippets here or there, a flash of long, dark hair and pale skin. He was just a young man himself back then, and despite his usual cool and collected exterior, even he had… urges. And it wasn't out of line to say that despite his aloof nature, Vergil recalled that he had plenty of attention from all sides of the field.

"Are you honestly sure? One hundred percent?" Vergil asked quietly after he took a few deep breaths to calm himself. He couldn't freak out now, he had to stay lucid. His sword was riding on it.

"Absolutely sure," Dante replied firmly.

Vergil felt his heart sink a bit; how was he supposed to proceed with this information?

He had never planned on having a family, children… anything. Now he finds out he has a son… a grown son, and no real idea who the mother is. Clearly the boy had survived without him all this time, so it wasn't like he really had much to offer the child. Besides… would he even be interested? The boy, no, Nero, was obviously here and close with his brother, but what about himself? He was just… here suddenly, what did that mean for any of them? Did Nero want a father? Or more specifically… was he interested in having Vergil for a father? He had Dante already.

Matters for Vergil were also complicated by the fact that he'd just had all this information dumped on him and he had no idea how he felt about it. Was he happy? Sad? Possibly mortified? It seemed inappropriate in Vergil's opinion to proceed with any kind of relationship with the boy when he had no idea how he felt about matters. It was all becoming a bit overwhelming for the devil, and he shook his head to try and clear it.

"Verge… no one's saying you gotta jump in and start taking the kid to baseball games or anything," Dante explained as if reading his mind. "This has gotta be… well, pretty damned rough on you. But it is what it is," he continued. "I think maybe later, after you've had some time to think, it might be good to at least meet the kid," the younger twin suggested. "Nothing crazy, no pressure, just maybe actually introduce the two of you."

Vergil laid back on the bed and closed his eyes, taking several deep breaths as he struggled to keep himself calm and collected. Sunlight was just beginning to filter into the room and he covered his eyes, only to block out the light and certainly not to hold in any emotion that might be starting to leak out.

"Yamato. I need Yamato," he murmured, desperate for something familiar to ground himself with.

Dante frowned down at his twin as he rose from the bed and closed the curtains and blinds. It wasn't exactly the ideal answer, but it wasn't surprising either.

"Yeah bro, I'll take care of it. Why don't you just lay down for a while and I'll come check on you later. Maybe we'll get that fresh air later," Dante suggested and gathered the dishes. "I'll be back in a little while… just holler if you need me," he called quietly over his shoulder as he exited the room and closed the door.

Vergil grabbed one of the pillows he'd been leaning against before and covered his face with it, growling an unintelligible string of curses and noises into it to keep everyone from hearing him. He wanted to scream, he wanted to throw a fit and deny it all, but even his brother wouldn't go this far for a practical joke- hell, Dante, as annoying as he could be, wouldn't even go this far if he was mostly but not totally sure about something like this. Maybe it was childish to feel this way, but Vergil felt he deserved to be a little childish right now. All he had wanted was to maybe patch himself up and then drift into obscurity for a while, and now everything had been turned on its head.

With a resigned sigh the devil removed the pillow from his face and turned over on his side, letting the exhaustion drift over him to replace the frustration and confusion he was feeling. It wouldn't do him, or anyone really, any favors to try and sort this out when he was this tired and miserable. Vergil supposed he couldn't change it, so he might as well deal with it on his own terms.


Nero jogged back into the kitchen as the sun started to rise and grabbed a small dish towel to wipe the sweat off of his forehead. He was feeling pretty good, the frustrations of the week having melted away with a good work out. Nero hummed quietly to himself as he swiped a gatorade out of Dante's fridge and guzzled it as he leaned against the counter. As he was about to head back out, Dante made his way into the kitchen with a slightly sour look on his face.

"What's your deal, old man?" Nero asked as he popped his shoulders and grabbed a second bottle to take with him. "I'm surprised you're up," he added with a snort.

Dante quirked an eyebrow at the teen, wondering if it was a father/son thing to question his sleeping habits, but he quickly shook that thought away.

"Same to you, kid. You getting a little work out in?" he asked, seeing the towel and the slightly disheveled state of him.

"Yeah, couldn't sleep…" Nero admitted as he indicated he was heading back outside. Suddenly the kitchen felt stifling. The teen figured Dante was following him - the man seemed like something was on his mind, so Nero sat down at the table and waited for him to spill it. "Spit it out, I know you have something to say."

Dante rolled his eyes at the younger hunter's antics - this was really getting to be a bit amusing. He might make a list of the similarities later so he could laugh about it.

"Yeah, you think?" Dante snorted softly as he leaned against the opposite side of the picnic table. "Well, I've had a long morning already, so I'll just skip to the good parts. I told him. About you," he said with a sigh. "I was trying to break it gently, but he's about as patient as you are... " the devil added with a slight chuckle.

Nero stared at Dante for a few moments, feeling like his blood had frozen in his veins. He wasn't sure how it was going to go down, but considering the shop was still standing, Vergil must have at least taken it somewhat decently. He supposed he was somewhat thankful he wasn't there for the 'unveiling' of the situation, now he could just focus on not vomiting when they were actually face to face, instead of worrying about his father losing his shit.

"...Greeeeeeaaaat." Nero shook his head and glanced over at the shop for a moment, seeing the closed curtains of the room where Vergil had been staying all this time. "Well, how did he take it?" he asked as his gaze shifted back to the other man.

"Tch, better than I expected, actually," Dante replied with a loud snort. "I guess it helps that he's too weak and tired to do much right now," he added as an afterthought. "But that's actually what brings me out here…"

Nero shifted in his seat, feeling like this was where things took a turn for the worse. Obviously he'd gotten off too easily just now, there was always something else waiting to come down.

"I figured. What is it?" Nero asked, though he had a sinking feeling that he already knew.

"Look kid…" Dante started, pursing his lips for a moment as he gathered himself. "He asked for his sword… like, it's kind of hard to explain how much he loves that thing. It's a bit weird, actually," he laughed somewhat awkwardly to try and diffuse the tension. "I told him the gist of what happened with it, but he's pretty insistent."

"I know. I understand," Nero replied somewhat softly as he stared at his own hands. "It seemed like it was really important to him last night. I guess I don't entirely get it, but I sorta do," he continued with a shrug. "I wouldn't want to keep something like that from him. I guess he doesn't have much else."

'Well… besides me,' Nero added silently to himself. 'Not that he's interested. Probably.'

"Eh, thanks for understanding, kid. I don't think it's gonna make him as happy as he thinks, but I can't tell him that. He'll just have to figure it out himself," Dante replied with a shake of his head.

"Hey, Dante…" Nero spoke up after a few moments, turning his gaze back to the other. "Do you think maybe we could wait? I'd… I think I'd rather hand it to him myself. If that's okay."

Dante smiled slightly and nodded his head.

"I think that'd be fine. And if he doesn't like it, then too damned bad," he added with a snort. "Hey kid, I ate breakfast with Vergil but I'm still kinda hungry. You wanna sneak out for a bite to eat while everyone's still asleep? My treat," Dante offered with his trademark grin.

Nero knew the other man must be distressed if he was offering to pay for something of his own free will.

"...Yeah, sure, why not. I'm pretty hungry too," Nero agreed. It would be good to get away for a little while before his inevitable meeting with Vergil. "Let's go. I guess we're both gonna need out strength for later," he added with a wry smile.

"Tch, you're telling me… I got punched just for talking to the guy earlier," Dante replied as they headed back inside through the kitchen.

"Fantastic, I can't wait until I get to talk to him," Nero snorted softly as they snuck out the front door and headed to breakfast. He figured he could worry about what was going to happen when they got back. Maybe he could convince Dante to slip Vergil some sleeping pills… though probably not.


A/N: Okay… there it is *w*;; They'll definitely be meeting next chapter- I didn't feel like I could squeeze all of that drama into this chapter and have it play out properly, so I cut it here. I thought briefly about having Vergil just flip his shit, but that didn't seem very Vergil-like, plus, I think he's smart enough to know that it wouldn't help, so instead he'll sit back and observe and plot, and just play it cool until it's time to make whatever moves he wants xD Thanks to everyone who's read, reviewed, and just showed love in general. You guys are awesome! I can't wait to type up the meeting, mwuahaha. If you spot any crazy misspellings or anything, feel free to let me know! I read it a few times… but it's all starting to blend together now xD